I am worried about my country,i am tired of endless arguments without result.Why do most Nigerians think once in government you need to chop money even if na small when out of 10 nigerians 9 are thinking like this what is the probability of ever producing a leader with vision and integrity? apart from some leaders way back in the past i cant see or forsee any leader in the race now who will give us visionary leadership that we need.
Nigeria needs a leader that has well developed personal values, who is detribalised to an extent because it is my believe that no one can be fully detribalised,a strong man with sense who isnt just interested in money, money money! We need a lead a leader who has passion for this country,because sometimes when all else fails the passion we have for this country is what will save us.we need to have someone whose records or perfomance speaks for it self the only person i have come across in recent times is
Fashola of lagos state,i dont care what anybody says ElRufai.These are the only two pple i've seen their performance.If you know of others pls lets start shopping.

knowing is no problem, how do we get them in there is the issue. We have so many religious leaders you can trust if only they will accept. No1 is Pa E.A. Adeboye Founder and G.O. of Redeemed Xtian Church. I WILL VOTE MY TEN FINGERS IF HE ACCEPTS.

If everyone could vote with their conscience and then the authority allows those vote to count.

You are right knowing isnt good enough how to get them there as for Pa Adeboye i personally dont think he should contest because as a xtian the call of God is the highest calling.Secondly he would appear too religious,it would look like he would use the resources of the country to favour xtians.Nigeria cannot afford this at this point of her history a larger population of us is muslim esp the north where we need the change in mentality most.we need to put someone there who has no extreme religious or tribal leanings.
On how to get them there firstly our votes must get to count. so the qxn now is how do we get our votes to count

andromida:

You are right knowing isnt good enough how to get them there as for Pa Adeboye i personally dont think he should contest because as a xtian the call of God is the highest calling.Secondly he would appear too religious,it would look like he would use the resources of the country to favour xtians.Nigeria cannot afford this at this point of her history a larger population of us is muslim esp the north where we need the change in mentality most.we need to put someone there who has no extreme religious or tribal leanings.
On how to get them there firstly our votes must get to count. so the qxn now is how do we get our votes to count

If someone oi good, i dont see a reason why he cant run for office.

@andromida, you made a good point at that, being an extreme religious fig. But at the same tym, if not for the mentality of our northerners, a good xtian will not be bias about other religion. The bible did not teach aggressiveness in recruiting xtians. Preach the word and he who has ears let him hear is the slogan. Visit each home and enter where ure welcomed and where ure not scrub ur feet and leave. Pa Adeboye is too matured to mixup religion with governance. If he finds himself there he will get God's wisdom and guidance. However El Rufai too is ok to me, but my priority will be Pa Adeboye, Fashola, El Rufai as these is so far the nominations we have.

Now on how they will get there, we need to form a group of overwhelming fig, consisting of pple who wants to move ths nation forward, with genuity and sincere purpose, not hoping to get anything in return than a good dedicated result oriented governance. To achieve ths, there shldnt be any fund raising, money is evil, there is no need for any office, online forum is ok and for the internet illiterates, we need to see what to do about them. The candidates need not knw us individually (otherwise personal interest will set in), All we need is to accept a candidate tht has been chosen by a party and we see as viable. Now u cant really avoid their stealing, but what matters is, while they steal they should move the nation forward.

For me, am not after what i stand to gain financially or post wise, am after wht this nation will have for my children in the future also am looking forward to amenities and facilities that will be in place to serve we as a pple, POWER, SHELTER, WATER, HEALTH AND SOCIAL. In lagos am already enjoying some of these things, i.e. roads are lined and streets are tagged, parking spaces are distinct, street lights are in progress, these are the dividends I want.

knowing is no problem, how do we get them in there is the issue. We have so many religious leaders you can trust if only they will accept. No1 is Pa E.A. Adeboye Founder and G.O. of Redeemed Xtian Church. I WILL VOTE MY TEN FINGERS IF HE ACCEPTS.

Deluded religious nutter. You religious nutter are the reasons why the country is stagnant, Dream on.

@walatta, I dnt knw why some of u jst jump 2 conclusion and utter misleading statements. Am not a redeem church member, am not a religion fanatics, am a christian though but an Anglican. I dnt care if we are ruled by xtian or muslim all am after is a good person, a good leader. Why not suggest ur own, rather than trying to crucify my opinion. Read my second post, I accepted El-Rufai and Fashola as suggested by the poster these are Muslims. Please dnt insinuate what i never meant. Its exactly ur kind of pple tht are taking us backward. Watch ur utterances b4 u start something u cant handle. Its not worth it. PLEASE!

@poster, Nigeria has never lacked leaders with Vision and Integrity, what we have lacked is an indisputable, repeatable and enduring political/economic/social institutions that will allow such competent leaders to come to the fore and contest with the Absolute Backing of the People and the Immovable will of the Judiciary to install elected leaders without fear or manipulation by larger, corrupt and incumbent leaders.

Forget about the current crop of leaders in various offices across the country, place your focus on leaders in various activities home and abroad who are making Nigerians proud in their various fields of endeavor (benefiting their host country more than their home country). They have the competence and integrity to move into leadership positions and truly make this nation great. but what happens when the occasional Nigerian Leader of Vision and Integrity shows up, The forces that have kept this once great nation in a vicious cycle of poverty and stagnancy rise to the occasion, while we (the ones on whose backs the whips and penalties of decades of mis-management, fraud and and corruption fall on mercilessly) sit back and intellectualize (all day long), hope for a messiah (all day long) and pray to God (all day long)

1: Occasionally the group (youths) most threatened by this foul environment rise up in vigorous protest and go on a march. but the direction and vigor is soon lost to the daily frustrations of living in Nigeria.
2: The very Masses that Activists and Youths are fighting for sit back at home and say About Time   and go back to whatever it is they were doing
3: Whenever the Aged-decrepit and obviously useless politicians like Ibrahim Babangida or Obasanjo start to talk about makign things right and endorsing an equally corrupt agenda, They will always find support from thousands of Youths and "Men of Integrity and Vision"   (Now that one never ceases to cause me laughter)

To quote a particularly caustic activist-friend of mine

You cannot pour clean water into a glass of piss and make it drinkable ^TM

1: You must pour out the Piss (Completely erase the corrupt institutions and the people that run it)
2: You must rinse the glass properly (Sterilize the environment by building a progressive, sustainable institutions that real leaders can operate in)
3: You must now pour clean water into the glass (Bring in worthy leaders with Integrity and Vision)

But as it is, Real Leaders with Integrity and Vision are not brutal political animals who will kill, main and destroy lives like most of our polity today

It is not a question of bringing out Good leaders but one of ridding the country of the bad ones we already have

@posters
c as nigerians dey dream na only 4 nairaland we go fit talk nd comment but 4 where e dey happen,we no get mouth

@lagerwhenindoubt, I so much appreciate the way u analyze ur facts, and i guess u actually spelt out the nature of our pple. Now what i want u to realize is tht, truly we knw the politicians we have today maims and kills, thus most credible candidates are either killed while showing their ambition or scared away, we knw this, does that mean we shld live with it?

Fashola came out of these criminals called politician, we cannot exonerate him, but we can say he is better than a million of them, cos despite all odds, we can see some progressive plans he put in place and we can see the results. We have seen these also in some other state governors, and other public offices. These are foundations that Tinubu has laid for him to build upon, which he didnt only just build upon, but re-enforced b4 building on it. If we start with this kind of pple, soon we will get to where we want. Remember these are activists, the LION HEARTS.

So lets leave the gentlemen and women who doesnt have the heart to sacrifice and run a race amongst lions and reptiles, I myself will be scared if any of my family ventured into politics, lets support those who has stuck their necks out to take the risk. Gradually we will sanitize the polity. Rome was not built in a day. Please with ur wide knowledge and very acute sense of reasoning, suggest as requested by the poster, who u think can do it, and hw can we support him/her to get there. Am here to support this common course tht is so much desired by majority who are the suffering masses, that rather prefers to suffer and smile. You and I are different, thts why this topic interests us, so lets start our own little piece and support one another. Criticisms with solution.

I am on my way . . .

@yeswecan, bro we really can and as ure on ur way ure welcome. I have read a number of ur posts and I think ure one of the real men, a Nigerian who think reasonably and who knws wht it takes to get wht we want. We are not going for violence, we are going to make sure our massive votes count, which we will jealously protect and defend until our mandate is given to us. ONE LOVE! ONE MIND! ONE PEOPLE! ONE NIGERIA! ONE NATION!

Not that I am averse to starting small, like they say, little drops of water make a mighty ocean but for me that approach will take years to start having an effect (if it is not killed-off quickly by the current crop of corrupt leaders). Very few doubt the good-works of Okonjo-Iweala despite rumors of poor governance and corruption issues. She put her foot down and did what had to be done to spur immense economic reforms whose impact can still be felt today, but what happened when OBJ started eye-ing 3rd term in Office? He disgraced her out of office together with Oby-Ezekwesili. The government of the day will always hire good hands to keep the wheels of this country's greatest revenue generation engine going. (Crude Oil) but when it is time to start stealing, they simply disgrace you like they did to Nuhu Ribadu.

A Leadership Revolution has to occur and it has started in different forms with angry voices who say NO MORE!! to bad governance and corruption. but there are key issues that must be addressed regarding the building of foundations that will support such a massive revolution.

1: Political Awareness
2: Ethnic Friction
3: Religious Friction

When we have fully addressed the imbalance in the above three issues, we can now approach the issue of True Leadership with the assurance that we have become an Irresistible Force of Nature, embracing all that is intrinsically good and crushing supposedly immovable objects like corruption and poverty   (I mean that)

[size=13pt]Political Awareness

[/size]By far the most important of all issues that we must address. Since the coming of Democracy with the death of Abacha, Nigerians have come to the realization that politics, especially on the national level can no longer be ignored. As important events force these issues into our lives we in turn are compelled to discuss them. This is where the problem starts. How many times have you tried to have an intelligent political conversation with a friend, fellow worker or family member only to discover that two of you are talking on completely different levels? What starts off as a well intended interaction quickly devolves into a struggle to avoid insult or seriously offend.  Nairaland Political posts bear conclusive evidence to this statement. We argue so much that the goal is lost in argument and the wrong mindset is developed, fed and maintained so much that people now have expert knowledge of political situations they have not heard, seen or experienced in their entire lives.  
We must stop and correct this mistake NOW! by recognizing the various levels of Political Awareness and educating ourselves and fellow revolutionaries.

Level 1. Political Illiterate – A person who is politically illiterate might know who the President is or perhaps the Governor of their state but that’s usually about it. They don’t watch the news. They have no knowledge of the issues and don’t know the difference between a PDP, AC, LP, APGA etc. This person does not vote or even care to vote. They are not necessarily poor and un-educated, they simply do not care.

Level 2. Politically Misinformed – This category is for those who have latched onto an extreme sect, an emotional issue, a movement or a charismatic personality. They are often dogmatic about their views and prefer partisan rancor because they would lose an objective debate. They often know little if anything about other perspectives. They have a slow growing awareness of politicians but are primarily focused on those they dislike. While this person might be passionate and loud about their views, they are also often hypocritical when it comes to the practice of these views. Politics is a stylish walking stick for them. So in turn this person will usually claim to vote but often does not.

Level 3. Politically Informed – This is probably where most voting Nigerians lie. This person knows who some of the government officials are, they know some of the issues and can tell the difference between various parties and their candidates (and God-fathers) They might be strongly motivated on one or two issues. They might pick their candidates based on personal appeal rather than party affiliation. They lean towards stability, moderation and bipartisan movements. This person votes in almost every general election.

Level 4. Political Activist – This individual gets involved. Here you have a person with a good grasp of the issues, who can recite the details of sects within each party and has worked on at least one election. This person reads books about politics, keeps up with the daily news and might write articles or a blog with a political hook in it. They have a preference for direct contact and search for an abundance of information wherever possible. They learn how to build coalitions in order to advance their agendas. This person knows who all the candidates are and votes in every election.

Level 5. Political Expert – At this level the individual is the one making the news instead of following it. The expert might work in government, knows all the issues, knows all the candidates and power players sometimes personally. This person is likely to have worked in many elections. They understand the language of diplomacy (and thuggery) and can strategize with institutions and the grassroots communities when necessary. They can, show sensitivity to different viewpoints and hidden agendas. appear on talk shows, they might write political books and their opinions carry weight in the political community. They always vote and do so publicly.

We must identify each levels of deficiency in Political Awareness and strive to move into levels 3-5 where the impact of our activities have a strong import on the Political landscape.

[size=13pt]Ethnic Friction
[/size]
Nigeria is an ethnically diverse nation and each ethnic group is vocal about its representation in the various spheres of national governance and leadership. Being politically vocal is different from being politically active, once again the issue of Political awareness comes into play the wrong way. Being ethnically diverse should not cause us to lose the importance of a united national ideology. some for example view PDP as a group bent on devouring the economic resources of this nation. While PDP may have embraced political ethnic diversity unlike most stronger parties. The question of ethnic origin and claim often results in the absence of true leadership due to the fact the the political region on which such a candidate chooses to launch his political ideology is largely controlled by an ethnic majority that he does not belong to.

We must strive to recognize that ethnic rivalry in politics only creates a distraction allowing corrupt political elements to forge ahead and claim electoral victories they would not ordinarily have been able to claim. There are true Igbo Leaders as there are True Hausa Leaders and Idoma Leaders and Yoruba Leaders and so forth. Buba Marwa was loved by Lagosians as much as Fashola was and he was a Hausa leader nonetheless. We must recognize leadership qualities regardless of the ethnic ties or origins a politician belongs to. Once we can rise over this key challenge, we can begin to build a truly de-tribalized political base for a united leadership revolution. Political thieves that revel in corruption have no tribal reservations. the only tribe they know and belong to is CORRUPTION

[size=13pt]Religious Friction[/size]
With a population of over 150 million people, Nigeria is the world's 6th largest Muslim nation and the 3rd largest Christian nation in the world. such numbers on the political arena is not take lightly. With such an enormous political potential, it often comes as a disappointment when the two major religious groups have very little in terms of lobbying power in the nations political machinery. Rather Religious energies are diverted to genocidal conflicts that only serve to divide a largely united group across political and ethnic lines (further creating animosity and aversion to diverse political ideologies) ODUUA vs AREWA, NDI'GBO vs. ODUUA, IDOMA vs TIV etc no one needs a sore reminder of all the religious and ethnic driven clashes in Nigeria in recent times   very few politicians even consider religious groups as important in their agenda Imagine that!!

We need to recognize that our unique Religious affiliations presents one of the largest and power-groups very few political platforms have access to and we have failed (disappointingly) to apply that potential into influencing the political landscape.

@ phillip 0906 the greatest ideas were born out of talking about it first,when you are passionate about something you must talk about it.To me Nigeria has this major problems
The believe that there is nothing we can do some powerful people are in control, true powerful pple are in control but that happened in every powerful country in the world nobody gives away power easily change must be demanded from the oppresssors by the oppressed.
Too much analysis,Nigerians can analyze all our political,socioeconomic problems but at this stage i believe we all know the prob what we want is solutions.Too much analysis leads to paralysis.
overdependence on religion.When karl marx said religion is the opium of the masses he was truly right.Religion gives hope to get by when all hope is lost.it dont mean the xtians and muslims have fear of God that they claim to love so much.afterall both religion condemn theft and extol virtues of loving your neighbours if you love your neighbour how can you not love your country?
Most xtians and muslims in Nigeria seem to be there because of frustration.check out churches on sunday after a fine preaching i dont see nobody being their brothers keeper pple even start quarelling,theft happens there.Some pple even go to church to get connections,some become church workers to be relevant same goes for the muslims you dare not wear your fine shoes to mosque you knw what will happen.
Whenever i observe the large populations coming out of church and mosques,see the notable leaders in attendance i begin to wonder why corruption not only thrives but soars in Nigeria.
Ngerians are only dreaming of the day they too will get to a position where they can take whatever is up for grabs and this happens because corruption crimes are not punished swiftly and appropriately to deter such future occurences, the society now looks up to and have adopted the moral values of the bad guys.
Which brings us back to the question how do we get a leader who'll lead by better standards of example because lets face it what has killed us is poor leadership if the president is corrupt we cannot beat it everybody will follow the example cos that is the laid down standard.

@everybody, you seem to have lost your collective voices in a bid to offer different views to achieving a single goal. It is as i have described, in a typical argument we all lose focus of the goal and start creating varying opinion groups that create mini-ideologies making sure we always argue and never accept a single, unifying ideology Nigerians will never change, maybe we deserve what we are getting after-all. When senators argue about allowances, do you think it is for your benefit?? in the end with their different opinions and voices, they still end up going home with what they truly want, while we banter over useless opinions that have no influence on achieving goals

lets just 4get about argument, and wait to see the candidates coming up and the party platform, them we will choose out of them the best we can trust and support him/her. what is important is to build up members here and make sure we cast our votes to same candidate.

we will never change

nigerians, ever so predictable

bump

OP
We have a leader with vision and integrity already. The problem is that there are goliaths, pharaos, necabudsnedezzars, lions, ojuju calabar etc these people are ones blocking our leaders vision. Imagine all those enemies at the same time.

Is it the ojuju's that are preventing his vision from becoming clear?